Justin Deoliveira, President of CAMBA, grooms a trail near Canmore, Alta.Supplied
Not long ago, hopping on a fat bike in the winter and finding a rideable, snowy, mountain biking trail in Banff to pedal through “was a total crapshoot,” says Clare McCann.
There were no properly groomed winter trails for the a fat bike’s plump, knobby tires in the national park. What did exist was the product of random people packing down snow on existing summer trails with shovels, snowshoes or wide touring skis, and then returning another day to pedal on them.
“There was no method to the madness,” says Ms. McCann, who heads the Bow Valley Mountain Bike Alliance (BVMBA) and whose company, Bikescape, leads guided electric bike tours from the Banff townsite. “It wasn’t organized whatsoever.”
But that is changing. Parks Canada approved a three-year pilot project in 2021 to allow a limited number of machine-groomed winter-biking trails in Banff National Park. So, for the past two years, volunteers with the BVMBA have used a Snowdog, a Russian-made machine that looks like a stripped down snowmobile, to groom 15 kilometres of trails in and around the Banff townsite.
Clare McCann rides a fat bike on Dec. 8, 2022.Supplied
The pilot was part of a wider plan to expand the number of trails where pedal-assist e-bikes would be permitted, which has been controversial due to concerns about the impact on grizzly bear habitat and the park’s ecosystem. (Conservation groups angrily called on Parks Canada to rescind Banff National Park’s decision.)
“We’ve been trying to get permission for 20 years,” Ms. McCann says.
The groomed trails allow easier access to winter-biking and will encourage a wider range of people, for instance those intimidated by the Nordic skiing, to take up fat biking instead.
During the pandemic, Ms. McCann added a wintry option to her business, taking clients fat biking on the easier snow-packed pathways and trails around town.
Fat bikes, which first gained traction in Alaska in 2001, are chunky off-road bikes similar to mountain bikes, but with tires that are at least 61 millimetres wide. Kept at cushy low pressures, they’re designed to float more easily over snow and sand.
Banff National Park gets about 4.5 million visitors annually, and Ms. McCann’s clients are mostly international and regional tourists with beginner to intermediate riding skills. The trails she uses for her summer and winter tours are the tamer green and somewhat more technical blue ones on the Tunnel Mountain trail network. She says fat biking has seen growing interest in parts of the province since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Supplied
For the past two years, volunteers with the BVMBA have used a Snowdog, a Russian-made machine, to groom 15 kilometres of trails in and around the Banff townsite.Supplied
The increased access to groomed winter trails for biking in Banff is part of a wider trend in the province in places like Canmore, Jasper and Fort Saskatchewan. Still, mountain bikers and winter fat bike riders face steep regulatory hurdles developing and riding trails in national and provincial park areas.
The pilot Ms. McCann waited so long for ends with the 2023-2024 winter season. “We don’t know if this is going to continue,” she frets. “We’re hoping it does because it offers a great experience for fat bike riders.”
This past November, thanks to a Rotary Club grant, the Canmore and Area Mountain Biking Association (CAMBA) began using two Snowdogs to regularly groom about 25 kilometres of winter-biking trails in the area under an agreement with Alberta Parks. The Canmore Nordic Centre, known more for its world-renowned cross-country skiing trail system, also has a Snowdog to groom new winter–biking trails.
“We have close to a dozen volunteer groomers trained to help us run our two Snowdogs,” says Laura Quelch, the Canmore association’s executive director.
Ms. Quelch has seen a definite increase in winter bikers asking for groomed trails in the area, and “while not a big trend yet,” electric fat bikes became more common this past year. “It’s just a great way to get people out and active in winter. People who are not comfortable cross-country skiing and might want to try something like this.”
Other areas of the province are experiencing an uptick in winter fat biking, as well. In Jasper National Park, a patchwork of groomed and ungroomed trails are maintained by volunteers with the Jasper Trail Alliance. And there are groomed trails in Fort Saskatchewan, 25 kilometres northeast of Edmonton.
Joe Yurkovich, president of the Edmonton Mountain Bike Alliance, says he’s noticing more people wanting to fat bike every year. “We see that not only out on the trails, but also through the strong interest in group rides organized by [mountain bike] clubs.”
But in Edmonton, a city with one of the largest urban single-track networks in North America threading through its river valley, there are no machine-groomed trails. Those would make fat biking in winter far more accessible to city dwellers.
Mr. Yurkovich’s group has discussed machine grooming with the City of Edmonton and is hoping for a pilot project to get the process started.
“Until then,” says Mr. Yurkovich, “we will rely on keen experienced riders to pack the trails for riders, runners and hikers. Volunteers have left homemade wooden trail groomers out on some popular trails to be dragged by users after a snowfall.”